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dangermousie · 5 months

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2023 End of Year Post - cdrama edition

Yes, we have a lot of December left, but I don't think anything else I want to check out will air before 2024 hits (it's cdrama so caveat is - you never know.)

This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2023; if I watched it but it was made in a different year, it's not on the list. This was a pretty good cdrama year, all in all.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

30 legend of twin flower - Not dignifying that drama with capital letters, as the only capital that should be associated with this is capital punishment - which is what watching this feels like.

29 Dominator of Martial Gods - sounds like a bdsm gay porn title. Would probably be better acted and written if it was.

28 Beauty of Resilience - you'd need a lot of said resilience to sit through this incoherent, barely acted mess. The thing that I remember the most other than my annoyance is all the jingly-jangly head gear on JJY. Perhaps they could have sold some of them and spent the money on a better script.

27 Divine Destiny - if you think you have too many brain cells and want to get rid of some, boy do I have a drama for you!

26 Wanru’s Journey - honestly it's probably tied with SEL - I mean it's worse but it has actors who are nowhere as well known and a fraction of SEL's budget. Still, this is a big fat nope. I will not say what I think of Aoi Rupeng's "acting" or I'd have to put money in the curse jar.

25 Snow Eagle Lord - Gulinazha's stone face, nonsense plot, terrible CGI. Take your pick as to why this is terrible.

24 Scent of Time - it was uneven but fun but then that ending was dumb enough to destroy the whole thing. Show me on the doll where common sense hurt you, makers!

23 Royal Rumors - Jeremy Tsui and Meng Ziyi are utterly wasted in this nothing trifle of a drama.

22 Legend of Anle - I had high expectations but alas. This is the drama version of color beige. There is nothing offensive about it but nothing good either. Mediocre actors are mediocre, good actors become mediocre, this is just a waste of our finite time on planet earth.

21 Romance on the Farm - it's not you, it's me in action. I can see why people would like this wholesome slice of farming family life, but it's tailored to trigger every one of my "nope" opinions.

20 Back from the Brink - if I were 12, it would be my favorite thing. I am not 12.

19 Journey of Chong Zi - objectively a terrible drama with plot holes the size of Mars and a leading lady whose face has apparently frozen when the wind changed. But I am a total sucker for the trope of upright shizun falling for his demonic disciple and going mental so here we are. Objectively, garbage, subjectively my precious!

18 Love you Seven Times - just call poor Ding Yuxi "Atlas," he carried this mess so hard.

17 Blooming Days - trashy dogblood harem fight fun throwback. It's not that great (and the fact that it was shredded doesn't help) but it's probably the last gasp of that genre for the foreseeable future, so I am grading on a curve.

16 The Starry Love - a fun fantasy where the secondary OTP stole the thunder but overall a really solid fantasy xianxia romance.

15 The Longest Promise - it could have been better - the secondaries were unbearable and there was too much of them and what they did with Alen Fang's character still gives me rage fits, but the main couple was impeccable and lovely and I rooted so hard for them.

14 Chang Feng Du/Destined - visually gorgeous, solidly acted, impeccable first half. Bland as hell second half. Win some, lose some.

13 Circle of Love - this drama is a nonsense trash heap on fire. After a typhoon hit it. It was also the most entertaining, addicting drama on this whole list.

12 Hidden Love - the sole modern on this list, this story has barely any plot but it made me care about the young, decent lovers so hard.

11 Choice Husband - starts out wacky, continues with angst and blood and happy ending. I loved it, but I've always had a soft spot for melo and schemers turning devoted.

10 Pledge of Allegiance - bromance, super solid acting, visuals, a really dark take on officials and the world. Insanely underrated.

9 Provoke - a truly fun Republican revenge and love tale, showing that short format can be wonderful.

8 Gone with the Rain - some of the secondary characters are rage-inducing (hi there, cardboard boy!) but the scheming, ruthless, vulgar FL is amazing and her slowburn with her age gap general who is delighted by her out-there-ness is great!

7 Wonderland of Love - Fei Wo Si Cun goes wholesome and the result is surprisingly entertaining. Battle couple, glorious visuals, a fast paced plot. It's the first Xu Kai drama I enjoyed in years (and he plays a rare cdrama ML it would be pretty neat to pair up with in rl.)

6 My Journey to You - that ending is infuriating (and I am OK with open endings if done properly) but what a visual feast, probably the most gloriously shot drama on this list, and that's a tough competition. Also it packs a hell of a lot of couples and familial and adversarial relationships into its slim running time; assassin lady won over by a gentle man is my favorite trope and so this is extra great.

5. Till the End of the Moon - the ending is a rage-inducing disaster for me, but this drama was the most incredibly emotionally intense, visually eye popping experience. It was deeply flawed but when it was amazing, it was like nothing else in its visuals, its characters and its narratives. It took insane risks; some paid off and some did not, but it was glorious.

4. Story of Kunning Palace - I don't often care for reverse harem stories but this one was such fun - the main OTP was glorious (strong FL, unhinged ML) but honestly everything about this was just so excellently done.

3. The Ingenious One - the most adult drama on this list. Smart protagonists, intelligent plot, emotions that felt true, this is a revenge and a mystery and found family and goes into so many directions you do not expect (Su Mengyu's PTSD after his first kill - that is something you never see in dramas, definitely not prolonged and profound - not like this.) If I was to say which drama was objectively the best on this list, as opposed to favorite, it would be this.

1 (tie) Lost You Forever 1 - this is an exquisite emotional jewel of a story about damaged people moving forward, with damage always present - their past informs their present and always will. The narrative about Xiao Yao and three very different men in her life makes me think that it's an equivalent of a neutron bomb going off right before the main narrative starts and now we are watching the survivors wander in the wreckage. This is very high fantasy setting but it's one of the most emotionally human narratives out there.

1 A Journey to Love - everything I ever wanted - assassins, ride or die adult OTP with genuine believable conflicts, great and complex secondaries, beautiful fights. Oh, and yeah Liu Shi Shi domming the hell out of every man in a ten mile radius, as she should.

FAVORITE DRAMA

It's a tie between Lost You Forever Part 1 and A Journey to Love. LYF1 is a bona fide art piece but it's only part 1 and who knows if part 2 will be any good (seeing the huge ep number cut, I have my doubts) and so it's incomplete. AJTL is an old school wuxia romance with incredibly competent, adult people in love and great cast of secondaries. I can't pick.

WORST DRAMA

romance of twin flower - this is a drama that should not exist. If I could hex everyone involved with it, I would. It's a terrible, stupid, shrill, badly acted drama to start with, but where it really is catapulted into stratosphere of horror is that is took my very favorite non-danmei web novel of all time, a smart and complicated tale with incredible protagonists and turned it into that barftastic abomination. Peng Xiao Ran kept making horrible drama after horrible drama but I kept giving her a chance because of Goodbye My Princess but after this disaster, I've had to accept GMP was a fluke and she is on my "if she's in it, I am out” list. Ding Yuxi is not that far yet (his performance in Seven Lifetimes was the one thing carrying that mess afloat) but he's on freaking thin ice. Anyway, I like to pretend this drama does not exist.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

It was hard because there were so many I loved this year - Deng Wei's traumatized, gentle Seventeen from LYF1 (if someone told me I'd swoon and weep for a character played by Deng Wei, I'd have told them to examine their brains asap), Liu Yuning's incredibly capable, deadly, contained Ning Yuanzhou from AJTL, Zhang Linghe's unhinged Xie Wei from SoKP, Chen Xiao's schemer with a heart Yun Xiang from TIO.

But ultimately, it couldn't be anyone else but Luo Yunxi as Tantai Jin/Demon God/Ming Ye/Cang Jiumin in Till the End of the Moon. He was everything - a demon, a saint, a martyr, a monster, a tormented abuse victim, a savior, joyful, unhinged, smart, pitiable. It was the cdrama performance of the year for me. Luo Yunxi even in a mediocre role is impressive but in a complex (series of) role(s) designed for his strengths, he is a force of nature.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Xiao Yao (Lost You Forever Part 1). Once again, there were runner ups - Bai Lu's smart a little evil FL in Kunning, the gloriously unhinged assassin domme Liu Shi Shi in AJTL, Esther Yu's assassin longing for a different life in MJTY etc etc etc. But Xiao Yao's damaged, difficult, very self-aware woman stole my heart. I was skeptical going in because I haven't enjoyed a Yang Zi performance in a long time, but she was the wounded beating soul of this incredible drama.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

Where do we start? How about all of Seventeen's (LYF1) monster family? His brother, who tortured him for years physically and emotionally to such a degree his body is a horror map and his personality is permanently altered because "mommy liked you better." Psycho mother who created a situation where the kids were going to turn on each other and "let's get my grandson raped" grandma. Where is a well-placed meteorite when you need one.

FAVORITE SHIP

Xiao Yao/Seventeen, LYF1. Yes, a ship of characters played by Yang Zi and Deng Wei is my favorite. Leave me alone, I am on my tenth helping of crow already. They are both incredibly damaged, barely functioning survivors who find what they need in the other - he finds a savior and someone who sees him as a man and rebuilds himself around her and she finds someone who will always put her first and only, and subsume himself in her. Is it healthy? No. Does it make sense for them and is it making them slowly functional? Yes.

Runner up: Ren Ruyi/Ning Yuanzhou, AJTL - two adults, so competent, so chemistry full. She has so much damage and so little normalcy but is so strong and he is oddly gentle (in between murders) and incredibly self-reflective. They are each other's mirrors and I love them.

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Su Mingyu/Ke Menglan, The Ingenious One - the idealistic merchant who wants to join jianghu until he sees its horrors firsthand and a slave entertainer who wants security but decides she wants him more. They are gorgeous and glorious and wholesome and I adore them.

Runner up: Liu Gong Quan/Ming Zhu, The Ingenious One - that drama was a shippy gift, especially impressive considering it wasn't even romance-centric. He's the officer who has to bring down her treasonous father but loves her. Delicious.

Another runner up is Chao Feng/Qian Kui, the angelic good girl and the scheming bad boy in The Starry Love. They stole the drama from the main OTP for me.

NOTP

Scent of Time endgame. What the hell was even that. It made NO sense.

FAVORITE SCENE

So many good scenes this year - Tantai Jin taking apart Li Susu in prison in TTEOTM, the OTP fighting in perfect sync and insane rhythm in the gorge battle in AJTL, Chen Ruoxuan's character stopping the execution in Pledge, Yan Lin's coming of age in Kunning, the poison/antidote "gamble" in MJTY, Cang Xuan detoxing in LYF1. But I think ultimately, me being who I am, my favorite scene is Xiao Yao kissing Seventeen's damaged, scarred knee to show he is in no way inferior for her. AAAAA!

In terms of pure jaw dropping visuals tho nothing will ever beat Ming Ye’s battle against the Devil God in TTEOTM.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Ning Yuanzhou, AJTL. He's sexy as hell (that height, that way he moves in battle) but he's also so incredibly competent, so adult, so self-reflective and so attracted to a woman for her strength. He also gets whumped on the reg. Anyway, my hormones are ready.

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Gong Yuanzhi (My Journey to You) - I loved the unhinged, brocon poison boy. He was everything. Also Yan Lin (Kunning) - talk about sunshine; I totally got why all these people felt they needed to save him.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

My Journey to You - what the HELL was that ending?

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

legend of twin flower - that is, stab it with scissors like it stabbed the novel until it's dead.

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Till the End of the Moon - they clearly cut stuff to fit into the new regs about runtime and it made the last 1/5 rather abrupt. Gimme!

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

The emperor cannot be irredeemable. WTF, China, you are a communist country!

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

This is the year of a ML who yearns to be dommed by his FL. Long may it continue.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

The Legend of Anle - the novel had a great plot, the cast were all actors I either enjoy a lot or somewhat and we got - whatever that soggy piece of wonderbread toast was.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

LYF1 - I only checked out to mock because nobody could explain the story to me and nobody in the cast did anything I like either ever or in years. And then I fell utterly and completely in love and had to eat so much delicious crow.

2023 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

Ancient Love Song is the only one on that list. It looks really good, I just need to brace myself.

BEST NON-2023 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2023

The Imperial Doctoress - best slowburn and pining and glorious character development and adult leads.

MOST ANTICIPATED

Anticipating any nonaired cdrama is a mug's game but if they air, I will definitely check out all the Fox Matchmaker dramas, LYF2, JoL2 and The Last Immortal. If Prisoner of Beauty ever is allowed out of the vault (dubious), it goes on the list too.

#cdrama #lost you forever #a journey to love #till the end of the moon #my journey to you #choice husband #provoke #the starry love #the ingenious one #wonderland of love #story of kunning palace #gone with the rain

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anxiousnerdwritings · 11 months

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Could you do cersei writing to joanna!reader while tyrion has sent her to dorne with myrcella

My Dearest Daughter,

Oh, how I miss you so, my sweet. Both you and Myrcella. There isn’t a moment that passes me by where I am not overcome with either of your absences. Truth be told, I had stood in the exact spot where I was forced to watch you be stolen away from me saw you off, watching as you sailed away from the only home you had ever known, as you sailed further and further away from me, for hours afterwards. I couldn’t be moved, I didn’t want to be. I was praying and praying that the ship would turn back around and bring you back to me, both of you, that you would be safely in my embrace once more but of course the gods could not careless for my pleas. I had even resigned myself to the comfort of your room for days on end. It was the only thing at the time that made me feel close to you again. Even after I had returned to my own chambers after my longing I still found myself in front of your door especially, (Name). It didn’t help that I could swear I still heard your voice and the sound of your laughter every so often. I even thought I caught a glimpse of you a few times out the corner of my eye, but alas I know it truly couldn’t have been you. That it could not be either of my beloved girls. I was so overcome without you that just wanted you with me again. I still want you with me, the only place you belong.

I truly, truly hope the Martells are treating the two of you well, treating you as you so deserve to be treated, and that Dorne has welcomed you with open arms. I do worry though that the longer you are away the more you will forget about us, about your real home and the family you had to leave behind. I will be honest and vulnerable with you my eldest child, but I do fear that our family will be replaced in your heart. That you will replace me. I know it sounds silly but it has always been a deep seeded fear of mine and I cannot help but worry that it will finally come true. Promise me you will never forget your mother. Promise me that you will always hold me close to your heart as I hold you to mine. It would give me some peace of mind, even if just a little.

If it weren’t for your meddlesome and trifling uncle Tyrion, we wouldn’t have been thrown into this situation. I wouldn’t have had to say goodbye to my sweet daughters and neither of you would have had to be given away to strangers. I know I shouldn’t but I truly wonder whether I will ever see you again with my own eyes. It hasn’t even been that long since you were torn away from me left but it feels like an eternity already. After you left it felt like everything else left with you. The warmth, the love, the joy; it all went with you and Myrcella the moment you got on that ship and sailed off. And the only one to blame for it is that disgusting imp of a brother of mine your conniving and spiteful uncle.

As much as I know you favor him (I have not a clue how he deceived you so but not to worry, I know it’s not your fault, he’s merely manipulating you, my poor child), your uncle Tyrion truly is far from how he portrays himself to you. This predicament alone should be proof enough of how far he’s willing to go to hurt me, to hurt us. He’s driven a wedge between us, my sweet, a wedge of oceans keeping us apart and trying to hurt me as much as possible, doing so by targeting both of you. He knows how much you mean to me, how much I hold you close to my heart and for what? His spite? His hatefulness? He doesn’t have the right to go after me through my own child, through my children!

Oh dear, my sweet darling. My sincerest apologies for ranting on as much as I have. I had no intention of this letter being anything other than my missing of you and your sister, among other things. I never meant to bring such drama to you, please do not think much of it. I wouldn’t want you needlessly worrying about us all the way from Dorne. Your uncle and I will be just fine, nothing but a bit of ‘sibling quarreling’ that’s all. Everything will be alright, I promise. Put your focus and attention into yourself and Mercy, I want my girls happy and healthy when we’re reunited again.

I love you so very much, my sweet (Name). You and Myrcella. So very, very much. We will have to plan a much needed visit very soon. I know your brothers would love to see you both again, as would your grandfather. You have been missed so dearly since you left, it would be wonderful for everyone and yourselves to be home again, even if for a short while. We can speak more on the matter later.

Once more, I love and miss you, my sweet child. I hope to have you with me again very soon.

With Love,

Mother

P.s. The gifts you and your sister have sent have been lovely and I couldn’t adore them more. They are the only things keeping me at bay for the moment. I have a few of my own I will be sending your way, I hope you both find them as fondly as I have. A little piece of home for the two of you.

#yandere cersei lannister #yandere cersei lannister imagine #yandere love letters #yandere letters #yandere game of thrones #yandere game of thrones imagine #yandere #yandere writings #yandere imagines #game of thrones imagine #cersei lannister imagine #yandere x reader #yandere cersei lannister x reader #x reader #female yandere #female yandere x reader #yandere got #yandere got imagine #got imagine

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euphor1a · 4 months

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Bewitched (iii)

↬ pairing: bad boy!yeonjun x good girl!oc

↬ characters: loner bad boy!yeonjun, heartthrob!soobin, best friend!beomgyu, female oc (can be read as f!reader too) + a few supporting characters.

↬ genre: college!au, bad boy!au, slow burn, drama, strangers to lovers, smut, a bit of unrequited love.

↬ summary: After starting college, you never really imagined that you’ll cross paths with Choi Yeonjun — the loner bad boy with influences. But life is full of surprises, ain’t it?

↬ rating & word count: 18+ ; ~3.1K

↬ warnings: profanity, mentions of anxiety, bullying, explicit sexual content; manhandling, dirty talk, fingering, orgasm denial.

↬ disclaimer: this is fictional and doesn’t reflect any of their actions or personality!

↬ previous 𓍯 series masterlist

↬ a/n: thank you to anyone who’s still interested in this baby of mine, i appreciate you a ton <3

You’re supposed to vacuum the apartment today, but you can’t seem to focus, at all. And honestly? It sucks. The more you’ve been trying to move on and be grateful to have dodged a bullet like him, the harder you’ve been thinking about the culprit nonstop.

Three days have passed since you found out a very shocking fact that has left your poor heart in a whirlwind. But you don’t know which is more terrifying — the fact that Daniel is Yeonjun and he lied about his identity, or the cold, harsh truth that you’re still insanely attracted to him.

A dreary sigh escapes you. Life is not favoring you at all. It’s become such a pain in the ass at this point. Why did you have to fall for someone like him? It would’ve been so much easier if you had feelings for someone whom you know and trust, someone sweet and caring, like Soobin, or even Beomgyu.

Plopping down on your couch, you close your eyes. Things are looking very complicated right now. Not only the thought of that lying bastard has plagued your mind, but also, it’s hindering your daily life. You’ve been extremely unmotivated and anxious ever since the truth unfolded. You wish you had the power to fix everything, but alas, you don’t.

You remember how Yeonjun looked at you under the moonlight, the way his soft lips devoured your mouth. Are bad boys really capable of such gentleness? You don’t know… from the start, you’ve stayed away from the problematic people, like “bad boys”, just as your parents instructed. And guys like Yeonjun, if you’re being honest — you still prefer to steer clear out of their way. Not the devil himself, though. He got you addicted so fast and so hard that it’s difficult to back out now.

As if to distract you from his thoughts, your phone rings loudly. You squint your eyes, letting the sound bring you back to reality. Soon after, you inhale sharply and reach for the device, your heartbeat picking up with stupid hope.

Turns out it’s Soobin. With a gentle smile on your face, you answer the call, his soft voice cooing in your ear.

“___, just wanted to check in! How are you holding up?” You calm down almost instantly, grateful to have someone like him in your life.

“I’m… alright, I guess. How about you, Soobs? Anything interesting going on?” You speak softly, not keen on making this gentle giant worried in any way.

“Ehhh, what a lame way of trying to change the subject. It didn’t work. You better be taking care of yourself, miss lady, or I’ll–”

You cut him off midway, reassuring him. “Oh god, of course I am taking care of myself! Don’t worry!”

“Hmph.” Soobin grumps on the other side. Even if he tries to come off as threatening, he really just ends up sounding adorable.

“Oh, come on now, don’t be mad at me…” your voice is adorably childish in the end, making him sigh. Why do you do this to him?

“I’m not mad at you. But you do need to take care of yourself.”

“Did you really call me to lecture me about self-care?”

He groans at that. “So, what if I did?”

You pout, trying to change the subject. “Soob, can I ask you for something?”

“What is it?”

“Where did you meet Yeonjun that day? Just curious.”

There’s no answer.

“Soobin?”

He clicks his tongue. “At our college.”

“I know that! I mean where at the college?!” you whine, clearly displeased.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.”

“I didn’t ask for your favor, did I?”

He ends the call, leaving you frustrated. Before you can call him back, you see a message pop up in your notifications.

Soobin: i think ___ is genuinely going crazy

Soobin: beomgyu, we gotta do something

___: Soobin…

Soobin: gyu? this is urgent!

Gyu: uhhh what now..? 😭

Soobin: she wants to know where i met yeonjun.

___: 😶

Gyu: girl why are you asking for trouble

Gyu: if it’s something important we can talk to him about it

___: Do I look like a five year old to you?

___: Why would you talk to him instead of me?

Soobin: you don’t understand, do you?

___: Understand what? This bs?!

Gyu: ___…

Soobin: see, this is why it’s so hard to communicate with you 😔

Gyu: soobin! don’t!

___: Wow, okay. I’ll leave you guys be.

Gyu: nono princess 🥺 don’t listen to him!! soobin is out of his mind!!

Gyu: you can’t just leave us :(

___: Damn right I can 🥰

Soobin: NO ONF IM SO SORRY 😭😭

Soobin: *omg i was just emotional and said whatever came in my mind i’m sorry

Gyu: this is such a mess 🥲

Soobin: don’t leave us 🥺🥺🥺🥺😔😔☹️☹️😢😢💔💔

___: Yeah whatever

Gyu: why do you want to meet yeonjun, anyway?

___: *sigh*

___: It’s personal.

Soobin: uhm that’s suspicious 🙂

___: And you asking the very same Yeonjun for “help” isn’t?

Soobin: ouch 🤕

Gyu: this guy… how many times do i have to tell you to watch your damn mouth 😒

Gyu: ___, i understand that it’s personal. but, as everyone says, it’s better to stay away from him.

___: You two don’t understand 😞

Soobin: i give up

Gyu: soobin 😬

Soobin: i’ll text you the wing, floor and room no.

___: Thank you, I guess

Soobin: you’re welcome bb 🥺

Gyu: soobin, you’re a whole goose 🙄

___: Huh?

Soobin: GYU 🔪🔪🔪

Gyu: nothing lol

___: Okay

Soobin: 🥺🥺

Gyu: 😧

___: ??? Bye

Gyu: just promise that you’ll be careful!

___: Promise 🥰

Gyu: 😘

You smile as you notice Soobin’s direct message shortly after. Instantly giddy, you sent him a bunch of heart emojis.

It’s official. You’re gonna confront Choi Yeonjun. Face to face.

Next monday,

So, today’s the day. You’ve thought it through several times and took your time. Beomgyu did try his best to scare you off, but you’re not afraid of Yeonjun. Not at all.

Maybe because you know that he has a weakness for you. Or probably because the urge to meet him is too much and it’s numbing any other senses. Either way, here you are, walking through the hallway that leads to where he usually hangs around.

Tall, scary looking fellas stare you up and down, whispering to themselves as you walk up to the empty classroom, also known as his den.

“Hey kitty, where are you going?” An edgy looking girl stops you, regarding you curiously. The unsolicited nickname throws you off, but you refuse to let that be visible.

“Isn’t it obvious?” you shrug, hoping to appear nonchalant. They are kinda scary…

Another guy comes up, his voice mocking, “This place isn’t for you, cutie. Go back to your class or something.” A bunch of other guys agree, laughing at you.

Their ridiculous behavior makes you sigh. This type of people are the last ones you wish to deal with. “And who are you to tell me that, exactly!?” you state firmly, crossing your arms around your chest.

A bunch of them chuckle, drawing more attention. “Aww look, she’s trying to bite back. How adorable.”

“Really? Is that a way to treat someone?! If I’m here, that surely means that I have business with him, don’t you think?” you hiss in anger, glaring at everyone who gathers around to see the show.

Your words and attitude only fuel their laugh. A person from the crowd remarks, “Look, this little nobody thinks she has business with ‘him’, apparently.”

More people join in to laugh at you, various remarks being thrown around carelessly. You start to feel cornered and humiliated, your hands turning into fists from frustration.

“Why the hell is there so much noise? Do y’all want to be sent back or what?” A deep, commanding voice shuts everyone up. You turn around with bated breath, your body freezing immediately as your eyes register the familiar face.

It’s him. The demon that’s been haunting you for weeks now.

Yeonjun seems pleasantly surprised when he sees you, but he quickly replaces it with his cold demeanor. “What was happening here?”

The girl who approached you comes forward. “This… this kitty was trying to get into your office. So, I stopped her and asked what she was here for. Guess what? She was trying to be all sassy as if she’s the one in charge. Obviously, she got destroyed… hence all the noise.”

His expression is unreadable for a second, and you wonder if you’re gonna be sent back empty handed. But then, Yeonjun glares at the gathered crowd menacingly, a hushed silence falling across the hallway. The ones at the front immediately lower their heads. “Judging a book by their cover now, are we? I don’t keep you guys around to assume if a kitty has business with me or not. And, last time I checked, stopping someone doesn’t include ridiculing them in front of everyone just to feed your petty little egos.”

“Jun, but–” one of the guys start, taking a step forward.

“I don’t have time for your hollow excuses, get out of here immediately, all of you.”

“We’re sorry!” Several of them chime in, dispersing without looking back. But some throw you suspicious looks, earning another glare from Yeonjun.

“My, my. Rebelling much? If you have a problem, then come over here and talk to me.” His raised voice booms through the space, making everyone leave with mumbled apologies. Once everyone is out of sight, he turns towards you, his eyes earnest. “I’m sorry for how they acted. They’re not used to seeing pretty, little, goody two shoes like you around here. But still, they were rude, and I apologize.”

You nod in acknowledgment, rolling your eyes. For some reason, his words feel insincere. But you have other things to worry about. Like, confronting him for his actions.

Before you can do or think anything further, Yeonjun grabs your wrist, gently pulling you inside the classroom. You gasp when he presses you up against the closed door, his body caging yours, a bit too close for your liking.

His brown irises study you with curiosity. “Why are you here, ____?”

You struggle against his grip, trying to move your hands away but failing. “Ugh– let me go!” Being so close to him makes you feel all mushy, and you don’t want to deal with that now.

Thankfully, he untangles one of his hands from yours, raising an eyebrow. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Pfft— Shouldn’t I be the one demanding for answers, Daniel?”

Like the maniac he is, Yeonjun chuckles at that, shaking his head. “I see. What answers, if I may?”

Is he kidding with you right now? What the hell is this attitude? “Why did you lie?”

He stops at that, regarding you thoughtfully. “I had my reasons.”

His monotonous reply pushes you off to the edge. Failing to hide your anger, you jab a finger on his chest, demanding clarity. “What reasons, Yeonjun? That you had to lie and play with my feelings for a day?”

Yeonjun grits his teeth, his grip tightening significantly on your wrist. “I did not play with your feelings, ___.”

“Liar.” punching him on the chest, you try to take your hand away, but it backfires. He traps you inside his strong embrace, his hot breath fanning over your head.

“What are you doing–”

He tips your chin upwards, his pupils dilated as he looks at you with a burning hunger. “You enjoy testing my patience, don’t you?”

Your body shivers involuntarily, your lips just inches away from his. Swallowing nervously, you look away. But he grabs your chin, forcing you to look at him.

Yeonjun leans in, dangerously close to you. “I’m warning you, don’t play with fire. You’ll be suffering and I hate to admit it, but I’d be damned if that happens.” His whisper is hot against your lips, a weird feeling coiling in your stomach.

What the hell is he talking about? Why does he sound like he’s from a cliché forbidden romance fanfiction?

“Well, what if I want to play with fire?” You suppress your wish to cringe, eyes challenging him to reply. A strange wave of emotions displays in his brown irises, his free hand forming into a tight fist.

“Don’t blame me when you get burnt.” His lips crashes against yours swiftly. Yeonjun lets go of your arm, and you curl them around his neck, instinctively pulling him closer. He smiles in the kiss, as if victorious, his hand grabbing your ass and squeezing the flesh briefly. The stinging sensation makes you moan.

Yeonjun grazes your lower lip with his teeth, asking for permission to ravish your mouth — which you gladly provide. His prying tongue slides past your lips, meeting with your tongue in a passionate kiss. You gasp in pleasure, pulling onto his hair when he starts trailing kisses down your jaw. Yeonjun backs you up against the only table in the room, his voice a growl. “Why do you do this to me? Fuck!”

You look at him, your chest heaving as you try to process the mind-blowing kiss. But alas, he’s not done yet.

“Are you here for this, huh?” He reaches to drag his thumb over your chin, forcing your gaze up to him. “Wanted my touch that bad? ___?”

Liquid heat rushes through your veins when he moves his hands all over your body, brushing against your sensitive spots. He squeezes your breasts, enjoying the perky nipples that he feels through your clothes. “Tell me.”

“No!” You choke out, “I came here to ask you why you lied about your iden– ahh, god!”

Yeonjun lowers his head to your neck, dipping his tongue to lick the sweet spot. You melt under his touch, both pleased and bewildered by the fact that he obviously hasn’t forgotten your most sensitive spots. His eyes are fixed on you as he brushes both his hands beneath your skirt, tracing them up to the edge of your panties.

You throw your head back in pleasure, your knuckles turning pale as you grip on the edge of the table. “Please… ” you mewl, looking at him desperately.

Yeonjun smirks, brushing your inner thighs. “Please what?”

“I need you to touch me.” You sigh shakily, your eyes pleading with him. Apparently, he’s beyond teasing, because as soon as he reaches your soaked pussy, he pulls the piece of clothing to the side and pushes two of fingers into you.

“Yeonjun…” your head falls on to his shoulder while he pumps you gently, a groan escaping him.

“Fuck, you’re drenched.”

He picks up pace, not giving you a moment to breathe. You cry out when he curls his fingers inside you, hitting your g-spot. His pace gets rougher, clearly fueled by your moans.

When his thumb finds your clit, you clench around him, your breath coming in short gasps.

Yeonjun smiles complacently. “You love this, don’t you?” The pressure on your clit increases slightly. “You love that I’m the one doing this to you.”

Without waiting for an answer, he draws his now slick digits away and puts them in his mouth, depriving you of an orgasm.

You whine, biting his neck from the frustration. Yeonjun makes you look at him, his voice dropping by an octave, “Bad girls don’t get to come.”

You try to rock your hips, craving any type of friction that can satisfy you. But he stops you, growling in your ear, “It’s time to go back, sweetheart. I have work to do. As much as I’d love to do you instead… I can’t. Not now.”

You look at him with dazed eyes, your voice a whimper, “You always leave me high and dry like this. I came here to confront, but you–”

“Shh. I told you; I had my reasons. I was simply trying to protect you.”

“Protect me from what exactly?”

Dropping a kiss on your forehead, he retracts. “I’ll tell you the next time we meet, ___. If I find it feasible, of course. You should probably fix your clothes though…”

You look at your disheveled state, sighing. “You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”

Yeonjun looks offended. “You clearly don’t know me yet.”

“But–”

“No buts. Don’t you have classes or some shit?”

You yelp at that, suddenly remembering where you exactly are. Quickly climbing down from the desk and fixing your clothes. While you finger brush your stray waves, he regards you intently.

“Like what you see?”

Yeonjun chuckles, nodding. You walk up to the nearby window to see your state, the dusty glass surprisingly reflecting quite well. “Tsk, thank god I wear a transfer-proof lip tint. All of my lip-gloss is gone however, and it looks weird.”

“You don’t have a bag with you, though. How are you gonna reapply?”

You sigh. “I left my bag with Soobin. I’ll just reapply later.”

“Wait.” Yeonjun walks up to you slowly. “Won’t it look suspicious, though? I have a lip balm, does that work?” He offers you a small tube of strawberry scented lip balm.

“Well, it won’t look the same but obviously it’ll be somewhat glossy.”

“Then take it.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him, gingerly taking the tube from his hand. His eyes follow each of your little movements as you part your lips a bit and apply the lip balm, pouting at the end which makes him chuckle.

“Thanks, here you go.” You proceed to give it back, but Yeonjun shakes his head, throwing his hands up.

“You can keep it for yourself. It suits you so well.”

“Oh?” A bit surprised, you look at the cutesy tube of lip balm in your hands. “Thank you…? Won’t you need it though? Your lips look a bit dry, even now.”

“Are my lips dry? Hold on.” Yeonjun leans in for a peck, his lips firmly landing on yours. Your heart skips a beat from his sudden action, butterflies in your stomach. Why’s he so???

He pulls back soon enough, rubbing his lips together. “Thanks, baby.” The glint in his eyes indicate that he’s enjoying this exchange very much, only causing your heart to go mayhem.

Nodding, you start to walk away nervously. You cross the room quicker than expected, hand resting on the lock of the door. “We are not done yet, Choi Yeonjun.” As you look back one last time, you feel a strange sting in your chest.

Yeonjun tilts his head, smiling, “Oh, trust me, this is just the start.”

end of part iii ↺ next

˗ˏˋ꒰ 💌 end notes ꒱

thank you so much for reading!! it’s been a while but i hope this was a fun read! 🩷 sorry for any mistakes left in there!

as always, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated! your support keeps me motivated 🌺🌟 you can also send feedback through asks <33

#🪄; things i’ve written #series: bewitched 🔖#txt smut #yeonjun smut #yeonjun x reader #kpop smut #txt x reader #yeonjun imagines #txt imagines #kpop imagines #txt scenarios #yeonjun scenarios #kpop scenarios #txt fanfic #yeonjun fic #sorry if it ever felt like this is an abandoned series. it's not.#i just take a lot of time to update #i kinda forgot how brainrot inducing bewitched yeonjun is 😵‍💫... bark bark #he got me kicking my feet and giggling and shit

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cozymoko · 1 year

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I seen your anime list and found out you do vampire knight can you do yandere platonic with kuran family? With dimension hopping darling ? She haven't seen the series and just think of them as random cosplayee stuck in snow?

YANDERE PLATONIC KANAME KURAN

Synopsis: Isekai child reader relives a day inside the yandere Kuran household. But thinks it's all a dream.

P.S — sorry if this is all over the place, I started losing my mind mid thing.

Pairing: Kuran family x fem! child reader

Format: Mini scenario, 2nd person

Word count: 1.9k

WARNING(S): Yandere themes

This was not your home.

It couldn't be.

No, not here.

You were sitting on a long leather couch, one of many that were placed evenly across the room. A chandelier dangled above you, emitting a soft, golden light upon your seated figure.

It was clear this was someone else's memory, even so, your ability to move surprised you.

You started at the warm cup of tea resting in your hands, dazed and bits of fatigue flickering across your expression. Your polished shoes just barely reached the marble flooring which just didn't seem right.

Instinctively, you take one hand from the cup, examining yourself further. Your hands were small, much smaller than you'd remembered. And so were your legs; short and just barely reaching the floor. Who's goddamn legs were these?

“[Name], are you alright?” You jumped at the deep, sultry voice, lifting your eyes to meet the concerned gaze of the man towering over you.

You thanked the gods for it being your mother tongue, but even so, his words proved to be a bit foreign. They weren't exactly modern or anything like the dramas that consumed the media of your world. It reminded you of the nobles that filled the old books back in Tokyo, but even their speech wasn't this strange.

You nod your head, slowly, as though you were unsure. The man didn't look too convinced before he took a seat at your side. His chocolate hair was brushed neatly to the back though just barely passing his ears. He adorned a blue silk button-up with a beige trench coat draped over his broad shoulders.

He didn't seem convinced.

“Father, what's the matter? Why're you watching her so closely?”

A lean figure emerged from the shadows as though he was a part of them. He was a replica of the man whom he called "father", but mildly shorter with hair that reached the back of his neck.

" Kaname," He started, his gaze not once leaving you. "I'm afraid that [Name] may be Ill, it's not like her to just stare off into space like this.“

" I see..."

Am I not here? Can I not speak for myself?

You parted your lips in hopes of saying your piece, hit alas you were interrupted by the loud patters of feet coming your way.

A young girl sprinted to your side, successfully beating what you assumed to be her older brother to the couch. She clung to your arm, snuggling into the thick fabric of your sweater. Jovial giggles bubbled in her throat as she held you unbelievably tight.

“Now, Yuki, if [Name] truly does feel unwell you mustn't smother them.” Kaname scolded, gently tugging the young girl from your side. A deep look of displeasure flashed across his eyes but only for a moment as he reached to adjust your wrinkled clothes.

Yuki pouted rather childishly, yet her shame was evident in her round eyes. “Sorry big sister! Please don't be upset.”

Upset? You nearly snorted, just what was there to be upset over? It was as though your questions were answered when you met his gaze, laced with envy and slight disappointment. Oh, so this guy's a jealous one, huh?

If you had to guess, he'd rather be him bruh in your arms than her.

Pfft, just how old was this guy anyways?

You were hardly given the time to marvel over your thoughts before a decently tall woman emerged from a cracked door to your right.

"My poor baby!” She cried out. “You hardly get sick, what's the matter?”

God damn, did you even have models this beautiful in your world? You doubt it. Her long hair descended her back with a few strands framing her slim face. She reached out and gently touched your cheek, her fingers as light as a feather.

“Mother I'm fine, I promise.”

The words slipped through your lips before you knew it, almost like second nature as you gently removed the woman's hand from your unnaturally cold skin.

“May I get some fresh air? Maybe that'll help me.”

The troubled looks on their faces rendered you silent — guilty even.

Your lips shut as fast as they had opened, your body shifting uncomfortably under their prying eyes. Something about their looks made you feel off, as though they wanted to tear you limb by limb to keep you from escaping.

“Sorry...” You whispered, wishing desperately to get out of this situation. “I'll just go to sleep early I suppose. Ka...name, can you take me?”

That's right, you didn't know where your room was, and seeing as you were somewhat in control of this body it was much-needed information. That man's name felt bitter on your tongue like forbidden fruit hanging from a sacred tree, you had almost forgotten it, thankfully you had not.

Nonetheless, he looked more than just a little happy to escort you. Maybe a bit too much for your liking. His eyes glistened in mild admiration and he reminded you of a prince in an eerie sense.

How fucking old are you anyway? I mean, he hadn't suspected a thing!

“Follow me closely, you seem to enjoy getting lost in these halls.” He chuckled.

Welp, that answers your question.

You tailed him like a lost puppy, just barely standing inches from his feet. You touch your lips, feeling the sharp fang nearly poking from them. So I must be one of them too? What kind of sick joke is this?

You look up at the concealed back of your "brother", listening to the soft clicks of your shoes as they mingled in the halls. His eyes glanced behind him ever so often to make sure you were still there. And you were sure he noticed you staring.

So are all of these people into cosplaying?

“Rest well,” He whispered, his warm breath faintly grazing your forehead before giving it a tender kiss. “You gave us quite the scare.”

Kaname ushered you into the room, not the slightest bit put off by your quietness. You weren't tired, you had just woken up. And yet a wave of fatigue has washed over you like a raging tsunami, your body staggered its way to the shelter mattress almost instinctively before you collapsed.

The darkness was short-lived.

Your fatigue is gone.

Your eyes shoot open, but not as your doing.

The scene changed.

Your clothes were different.

You were drawn to believe you were in another cliche as your clothes had indicated. Still formal with a Victorian touch. You could hardly collect your thoughts before they were (rudely) interrupted once more.

“My child, please forgive me for I love you dearly...” A voice lamented.

The woman this body called "mom" had kneeled before you. Her face was saturated in deep rogue, its tempting, metallic aroma wafting at your nose. She trembled, holding you tightly in your arms as though she was afraid to let you go.

You felt restricted and scared.

Your breathing was delayed.

Your heart hammered against your ribcage.

You wanted out of this situation now and there was no denying it.

“Mother, w...what are you doing?” That wasn't you, but you were no less curious than the child who said it.

Her lightly chapped lips made contact with your forehead. A chaste yet tender kiss goodbye to what it seemed to be. She gripped your shoulders in a possessive manner as though she didn't want to let go.

An aching pain drummed against your head. If not for your mother's presence you were sure you would collapse. It felt like you were being torn limb from limb — bit by bit — piece by piece. Your vision blurred significantly, causing you to lean on her chest.

Her crazed eyes stared back at you, sad and yet confident. She wished to care for you even after death but she knew it'd be selfish of her.

“I love you so much.” She smiled. “Even if you don't remember me.”

All you could see is black.

The warmth is gone.

You're cold, so terribly cold.

It was biting.

And you had begun to feel numb.

What was happening now?

Drowning you in a thick blanket of ice. Pale white butterflies descended from above before disappearing in the snow. You would have found them beautiful if not for the circumstances.

The shitty, unlikely circumstances.

You hugged your short legs to your chest in a pitiful attempt to regain warmth. You had still inhabited the body of a child. Yet your lack of mobility proved to be a greater nuisance than the cold itself. The jade puffer coat draped over your shoulders had already deemed itself useless.

You were hopeless.

Lost.

Confused.

Scared.

Hopeless.

Hopeless—!

Amidst the unforgiving blizzard stood a man. Flecks of snow zipped across your vision so much that you could not see.

“You smell delicious...“ The man slurred, slowly staggering towards you. “Give me...your blood...”

It hadn't registered at first. You had merely thought he was drunk out of his mind and nothing more. You shook your head, pushing your body further from the deranged man. Another action that wasn't of your doing.

You involuntarily shivered under his deranged expression. You swore at the circumstances, the feelings you were experiencing. The atmosphere no longer felt light and airy as it did in the manor, you felt more alive. You could practically feel the blood coursing through your veins and it scared you even more than you could've imagined.

“I said...give me your blood—Ack!”

Right, you'd almost forgotten about him.

In one blink his body had met the ground. Streams of blood-forming an unruly puddle beneath him. You scoffed; served him right. But fear has swelled within you once more in such unforeseen circumstances.

Who killed him?

Your strangely heightened senses no longer surprised you as you peer up to greet your savior. His eyes were all too familiar beside the rouge that swam through them. The warm chocolate color was no more as his eyes mimicked the blood dripping at his fingertips.

“[Name],” The man sighed in great relief. “must you always worry me so much?”

The previous events left your mind hazy and even blurred. As you soon recognized this man to be your brother, Kaname. You run your tongue across your lips, jumping at the absence of the pointed fangs you'd once had.

“Oh my, you must be terrified right now. My mistake, I didn't want things to happen this way.” He reached out, gently caressing your cheek with his clean hand. His slender fingers felt like needles against your numb skin.

“If only I'd made it earlier. Perhaps I could have saved you from such unnecessary trauma.”

You snorted. Yeah, maybe.

“Come now. I'll take you to somewhere safe." He whispered, reaching a hand out to you. “I won't allow anyone to hurt you again.”

You grab his hand, stubby fingers tangled within his own. You despised that warmth it brought you; the solace, the security. But what choice did you have? You were lost with nowhere to go.

Your "life" had just flashed before your eyes. Those memories were not anyone else's but your own. They were vampires, all of them including yourself. And it was evident that the man immersed in the snow had wanted you dead.

The pain you experienced with your "mom."

The crazed looks in their eyes.

The excessive isolation.

The blood staining his pale fingers.

It was all too real.

That's when you realized...

This wasn't a fucking joke.

#—🍁#x reader #yandere x darling #yandere imagines #yandere x reader #yandere #yandere scenarios #platonic yandere #slight yandere #kaname kuran #kuran family #kaname kuran x reader #vampire knight #vampire knight headcanons #yandere x y/n

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welcometothejianghu · 29 days

Text

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 叛逆者/The Rebel.

The Rebel is a 2021 period drama set during the 1930s and '40s as seen (mostly) from Shanghai by a patriotic young man who just keeps getting injured, ow, that poor baby.

It's a fairly realistic spy drama, by which I mean, there's not a bunch of cute costume changes or fun fake identities. Instead, this is a story about people who live entire other lives for years, keeping their true allegiances under wraps, doing what they can to help their side while sweating out what they can’t. It's way more John le Carré than Ian Fleming -- no James Bond flashiness or gizmos, all George Smiley subterfuge and paperwork. Actual spycraft is tough, kids!

Full disclaimer up front: This show is not a happy fun good time. It's a fascinating, gripping, tense piece of work about a thirteen-year period of history where a whole lot of miserable things were happening. The body count is frighteningly high. Be very careful about which characters you get attached to. Exactly one man has plot armor, so God help the rest of them.

However, if you're up for a quality drama with a serious tone that's so full of HISTORY! it's bursting at the seams, I have five reasons you should give this one a shot:

1. Starring the veins in Zhu Yilong's forehead

Do you feel like watching a beautiful man have a terrible day for 43 episodes straight?

This show is absolutely a Zhu Yilong vehicle. The rest of the cast is great (and more on them later), but he's the star -- and the show just loves to beat him up, both emotionally and physically. His character, Lin Nansheng, exists in a Murphy's-Law situation where if anything bad can happen to him, it will. If you like seeing this gorgeous gentleman in distress, this show has you covered.

Someone please care him.

2. Daddy Issues

Chen Moqun is a bad, bad man. He's a bastard in his first scene, and he's a bastard in his last. He is loyal to exactly one thing, and that is his own survival. He will ally with anyone and fuck anyone over if it means he gets to live another day.

He is also scaldingly hot in his bastardry.

Chen Moqun is the spymaster who pulls Lin Nansheng out of the regular military ranks and into the world of the intelligence services, despite Lin Nansheng's lack of experience in the field. This means that Lin Nansheng is Chen Moqun's little golden boy -- and that means Chen Moqun feels justified in making Lin Nansheng do whatever the hell he wants, and in getting all up in Lin Nansheng's business when he doesn't do it perfectly.

I know there are several of you out there whose tails just started wagging. Good, you've got it.

Alas that he is not in nearly as much of the series as his top billing suggests he would be. He's a major figure in the early arcs, but pretty soon after, Circumstances relocate him to somewhere Lin Nansheng isn't -- and because Lin Nansheng is our POV character, Chen Moqun all but vanishes from the show. He reappears later, but as a much less prominent figure. Still a self-serving bastard, though! Don't worry about that.

I like Chen Moqun as a character for a lot of reasons. He's slimy, but he's effective. He's smart, but he's not a supervillain. He's the kind of competent bastard that it's very fun to watch the good guys outwit. He kind of has to leave the narrative, because he's so sharp that much of the plot would be impossible under his supervision; he gets replaced by [spoiler], whose general incompetence makes him dangerous in a very different way, but who is so self-absorbed that he can't see when he's being played. Pulling the wool over Chen Moqun's eyes is a much nastier business.

At the same time, though, he's a coward. He'll sell out anything and anyone to save his own skin. His lack of inner conviction eventually reduces him to something pathetic, leaving him at the mercy of people he once abused, Lin Nansheng included. ...Ah, your tails are wagging harder now, I see.

Now, for those of you who are not into a Bad Daddy dynamic, may I sell you on how Lin Nansheng also has two Good Daddies?

Honestly, if this show had not been laboring under the weight of [gestures to the state of Chinese media and culture], I'm pretty sure they would have made at least one of these two Older Lifelong Bachelors textually gay. I'm just saying, throw-yourself-into-the-cause-style patriotism is a great cover for never marrying and being cagey about your entire personal life.

Also, I know their super-secret espionage meetups on park benches aren't intended to look like dudes cruising, but come on.

3. A startlingly good love story???

And I say "startlingly" because the love story comes in multiple stages, and I haaaaaate the first one. Fortunately, so does the show!

When Lin Nansheng and Zhu Yizhen start off their romance, she's a wealthy college schoolgirl (which comes off as more than a little creepy, since Tong Yao is clearly in her late thirties) and he's a TA at her school -- except she's actually a student activist working for the Communists, and he's a member of the KMT sent to seduce her and infiltrate her cell. It goes exactly as badly as you'd expect! And when it was clear it was over for good, I breathed a sigh of relief. I liked them both as individual characters, but as a romantic pairing, the amount of malicious deception involved really wasn't doing it for me, to say nothing of how I dislike teacher/student as a trope. (Also, they really have no chemistry together, but whatever, I'm used to c-drama hets by now.) Well, I thought, thank goodness all that's over and we'll never have to come back to it!

But here's the thing: They come together again later under different circumstances, and oh, that's some good stuff. She gets a haircut, he gets to be himself, and the two of them have to learn how to work together even when they can't entirely trust one another.

That amount of deception is great, because that's not lies -- it's opsec. They are both withholding colossal amounts of information from one another, and each one of them knows the other's doing it, even if they don't know what information is being withheld. They both want to know what the other person knows, but they also know that person would die before giving up their secrets.

This does lead to a number of points where you're hollering JUST TELL HIM/HER at the screen, which can get a little frustrating. But, like, you get it. They've got reasons for not sharing information, and grim little reason number one is, the bad guys can't torture out of you what you don't know.

This is not a romance drama; this is a drama that happens to have a complicated romance stitched all the way through it. Sometimes it's the main focus, but much of the time it's a side note. The two of them go years at a time without interacting. They each spend a fair amount of time believing the other is dead. When they do get to work together, they're great partners. When they're separated or at odds, they don't collapse.

I said earlier that Lin Nansheng is the POV character, which is mostly true. However, we do get a not-small amount of the story told from Zhu Yizhen's POV when he's not around, which goes a long way toward making her an actual person and not just an accessory to his story -- and that goes a long way toward making this romance something between equals, and not just a case where a nice guy feels real bad about how much he fucked over the girl he liked.

I'd say that if you're looking for a drama where the love story is a central point of interest, or for a drama without any love story at all, you'll be happier elsewhere. However, if you're a Goldilocks who enjoys a fraught love story when it's there but doesn't miss it when it's gone, this may strike a good balance for you!

This pair is also about as much as the show gets in terms of textual, onscreen romance. Howerver, there are also a number of couples in this show who have to pretend to be married, if that's a trope that does it for you. And speaking of those...

4. My Fair Lady

Lan Xinjie turned out to be maybe my favorite character in the show, which surprised the hell out of me, considering how she was introduced as a pretty throwaway character: Oh, look, a pretty and sophisticated woman at the dance hall, she can use her refined and wordly ways to make The Virgin Lin Nansheng sweat, it's great.

But then she comes back. In fact, she keeps exiting the narrative and then showing up again a couple episodes later! Her continued involvement with these spy boys keeps both ruining her life and saving it. Every time you think she's gotten out, circumstances pull her back into Lin Nansheng's catastrophe orbit, making her maybe the most tragic character in a series full of them.

Here's a thing that impressed me about the drama: Lan Xinjie is a sex worker, but the show never shits on her for that. The show presents what she's doing as negative, but mostly because she doesn't particularly enjoy doing it. She keeps doing it, though, because sometimes it's the best way for her to make money, and sometimes it's the only way for her to make money.

The thing is, Lan Xinjie herself never talks about what she's doing like it's some tragic fate. It's a job. She has to play nice with jackass men from all over the world, and she can do it because men fall all over a pretty girl like her. Whenever Lin Nansheng makes a sad face about it, she basically rolls her eyes at him. She has a very solid grasp of the way the world works, and she's going to do what she needs to do to keep herself and her loved ones alive.

Now: Lan Xinjie definitely functions in the narrative as a contrast to how Good and Pure Communist Girl-Next-Door Zhu Yizhen is. Lan Xinjie is a little too much of a Fallen Woman, so she's never going to threaten Zhu Yizhen's position as the main love interest. However, it would have been so easy to go all in on slut-shaming Lan Xinjie to make that contrast even starker, and the show does not do that. It does not judge her for her choices, in part because it understands that women like her very often doesn't have any.

On top of all of this, Zhu Zhu can act her damn face off. There are story beats that could have been melodramatic and unintentionally comic, but she sells them and makes them devastating. Arguably the best scenes in the entire show are when she and Zhu Yilong are working together, because the two of them consistently turn in stellar performances. This show is not exactly a font of subtlety (see my next point), but both of them manage to play their roles with restraint and dignity that make their moments together shine.

I won't spoil where exactly this goes, but to me, the complicated relationship between Lin Nansheng and Lan Xinjie is one of the highlights of the show. It's a lot of guilt and obligation intertwined with genuine affection, and because it can't be The Love Story, it winds up being a very fraught, intimate friendship that lasts through the best and worst parts of both of their lives.

Also, everything she wears is stunning. Marry me, Miss Lan.

5. Makes you feel real smart!

Hey, nerds! Do you like history? Because boy oh boy, is this a show about history!

It's so much a show about history, in fact, that it occasionally has to break into little documentary-style interludes, where you get to watch pictures of actual historical footage while one of the cast members narrates a small summary of what's going on with the geopolitical situation at that moment. Everyone in the main cast is fictional, but there are plenty of real names dropped all over the place. You aren't expected to know everything already, but you're definitely expected to keep up.

I will admit that I don't know the ins and outs of that historical period well enough to fact-check a lot of the particulars, so I can't swear to the accuracy of its various smaller moves. I do know enough about it to know, though, that this story is a little biased.

And by that I mean: This show is propaganda through and through. It’s all about how well the Righteous Communists did in their battle first against the Terrible Japanese, then against the Wicked KMT (the non-Communist Nationalists). Characters give stirring declarations of their principles at a rate of about one every other episode. There’s a whole scene where two dudes sit on a park bench and talk animatedly about what a great and prescient writer Mao was. Be prepared to be serenaded by a number of (what I assume are) stirring Communist anthems.

This all has zero emotional resonance to me. There were several points I could tell it was making references to events and people and speeches that are surely real historical things, but I lack most of the cultural competency that I’d need to recognize them without explanation. The climactic moment of Lin Nansheng’s joining the Communists (this is not a spoiler, you know it’s coming from the get-go) mostly seemed goofy to me, especially with the closed-fist salute that looks like you’re about to punch yourself in the head.

See what I mean?

All of which is to say: The propaganda did not bother me, because I mostly found it abstract and funny. And for heaven's sake, I'm from the US; I learned how to laugh my way through unsubtle pro-government propaganda watching Saturday morning cartoons.

However, I can imagine people closer to these cultures and events having MUCH stronger reactions. If this is you, yeah, be careful.

What's kind of sad (and by sad I mean funny) is how much the blatant Communism! Fuck Yeah! just turns the show into the "How do you do, fellow kids?" of propaganda. If it had just told the story, it honestly would have done a better job of making the Communists seem like the cool underdogs against the overpowering forces of authoritarian jackassery. But when you have someone all but turn to the camera damn near every episode to make sure you, the viewer, know how good and noble and smart its brave communist characters are, it sure spoils the effect.

I honestly don't know enough about the production team to know how accidental or intentional this was. Is it possible the drama is actually subtly lampooning these hyper-patriotic tropes? Sure, maybe! Is it possible that it actually believes this cringe with all its heart? Could be! Is it maybe neutral on matters of personal belief but playing up this version of history to get the show approved by party censors during the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP? Ah, yeah, that's the most likely one. Believe what you want about its motivations. Those who are inclined to be moved by its ideologies probably will be. The rest of us, probably the opposite.

All that said: I actually think it's useful and good to hear obviously biased takes on historical events, especially from unfamiliar and non-western perspectives. This is because all takes on historical events are biased, and it's dangerous and stupid to pretend they're not! Looking at how someone tells a story is as instructive as looking at the story they tell. If you go into the Rebel with that in mind, it adds a meta-layer of interest that I (a historian) find fascinating.

Ready to watch, comrade?

This one's an iQiyi exclusive -- and it's not a VIP exclusive, so if you're willing to put up with some ads, you can watch it all for free.

This is a show I'm probably never going to watch all the way through again, on account of how heavy it is. However, it is also a show I'm very glad I watched, because I find myself thinking about it a lot. Even when it's being hokey and jingoistic, it never stops being interesting. It's just a well-made drama that contains multitudes.

And, of course, one of those is this beautiful man's beautiful face.

#the rebel #叛逆者 #lin nansheng #i made this #rec post

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transingthoseformers · 3 months

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Occasionally I think about Longarm Magnus and his political marriage to Megatron.

And about how he's being cuckolded by a strange one-eyed and antlered Decepticon. Proof you can never trust a Decepticon.

Alas, the drama😁

Oh poor poor Longarm /j

I'm so here for it too, it's a lovely crack au

#did ever name it?#tfa longarm #tfa shockwave #same guy #tfa megatron #megashock

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gabbbyyyyyyyyyy · 26 days

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So called “Free thinkers” when there’s a bandwagon circulating around one of their favs

My take on Clock Tower / Glockenspiel headcanons!!

this man has me in an actual chokehold sorry not sorry

-Basic HCs

He/It

Clocktower/Anthro Clocktower robot

CANONICALLY 59 yrs old (going on 60 in may)

Voice HC: The Landlord (Oh!Super Milk chan- English/Americanized Dubs)

Height = 36’9 (36 ft 9 inches)

His personality can be summed up as being Sweet, fatherly, and calm—But can occasionally go overboard with his emotions, whether it be him acting too protective or sweet to the point of obsession, or going cuckoo (pun intended) over even the most minor of inconveniences. Everything else aside, he’s as sweet and smooth as honey, as long as everything is in moderation, he will be too.

-BATCH 1

This guy is basically the Timekeeper of the Wasteland, keeping track of certain dates and events in the wasteland, etc.!

Despite claiming that he knows the time, at any given moment, by heart (knowing his 50+ years of experience), little things, such as Daylight Savings time, may throw him off…and when he DOES get thrown off, he’d usually throw fits out of embarrassment.

There was once a time where the Small World ride was closed down (by Glockenspiel himself) for a whole week simply because he got the time wrong by 1 hour once (1) due to Daylight Savings… THAT IS HOW MUCH HE TAKES HIS JOB AS THE WASTELAND TIMEKEEPER SERIOUSLY.

As a nod to the OG Small World clock’s facade, and how it opens up to show the time—He has a chest crevice, which he can open up at given request, and show the time. Sadly, he can’t change the time by himself, and usually needs someone (usually a gremlin) to go and fix the time for him, when necessary (Time can be rearranged VIA differently shaped/sized Cogs inside said chest cavity

Both the cogs + The aforementioned chest cavity are incredibly sensitive, and even the slightest pains can throw the big guy off…

Also don’t tell him this… but the damned song that constantly plays on repeat in his daily life … actually comes from a Gramophone stored inside said chest cavity

-BATCH 2

Was actually still alive prior to the events of his boss fight (thinner/canon route), It just took like. Day or two before someone came and threw paint back on the poor guy

Still holds a grudge against Mickey after the maingame events, Despite the fact he’s practically required to just smile and wave at everyone willy nilly… here’s a visual demonstration

Has the memory of an elephant, once you do something to him, he (most of the time) remembers like it was yesterday… which isn’t too much of a good thing, given you know what

Drama Queen, very very big Drama Queen

Longlasting memory + Drama Queen = Hell no.

He can also recognize and perfectly memorize any face or object, so anyone who vandalizes the small world, or just any person thats worth seeing in a negative light, can be immediately recognized, and brought to justice

-BATCH 3 (+some Doll HCs)

Acts as a teacher/legal guardian figure to all of the dolls in the ride,

The dolls have Hivemind mentality, usually doing things in-sync and in unison, without rehearsal, as well as deciding how to act

Some times they’re pains in the ass to Glockenspiel, other times they usually help with certain chores and tasks, such as cleaning, getting certain things, etc.

Despite the fact the dolls resemble kids + have the mentalities of tweens, they’re extremely skilled and talented, even in tasks or activities that are normally considered hard, even for adults. But alas, the same cannot be said for their social skills, considering how their only real interaction is with eachother, and Glockenspiel

Though the dolls may cause some trouble or discomfort to Glockenspiel himself, any physical harm to them, from ANYONE (unless from another doll, without extremely malicious intent). Will set him off, no matter how bad the doll in question was behaving

If anything, if you break ANYTHING in the small world attraction, he will literally go over there and smack the Hickory Dickory FUCK out of you

Please note that Glockenspiel isn’t strict in the slightest, so you need to do something BAAAD to set him off like that.

The dolls carry information from the outside world, such as different cultures, fashion senses, food, etc.

As taken from a friend, Glockenspiel can reflect his own emotions onto the Dolls, if dormant, the dolls will act as normal, But if Glockenspiel goes into thinner form, the dolls will either:

Go completely stationary, not dare make a peep whilst the Clock Tower works his “magic”

Will wreck havoc on whatever person Glockenspiel is agitated at, Especially if said person has come with the intent to harm Glockenspiel, or the Small world in general. Please note that these dolls are approximately (in headcanon) 6-7 feet tall, and weigh about 250.

-BATCH 4

Glockenspiel usually feeds off of Oil (as a coffee-like substance) , and literal Computer chips (as snack)

Despite this, he doesn’t mind indulging in human cuisine every hour or so every once in a while, even having grown a bit of a sweet tooth from it, as well as having the aforementioned dolls make little foods for him, even if it’s not always perfect, or… even if it’s even considered edible. (Not like he cares though… he’s a damn robot!)

Speaking of how Oil acts as a sort of “coffee” to him, he’s. Pretty much addicted to the point that the oil may be apart of him, given how he has to deal with the 200+ sentient dolls, timekeeping, sitting around doing NISH. Keeping the ride fine and dandy, and listening to the same dumb song on loop for over 50 years…yeah!!!

If he doesn’t get his frequent dosage of oil, he’s just gonna be bitchy bitch mcbitcherson for the whole day, many complaints were filed to the gremlins for that and the ride’s service hours got cut short because the bitchiness was getting too much

-BATCH 5 (backstory edition)

He was apparently popular in the outside/“mainstream” world back in the 80s, in which he looked extremely different, with his appearance resembling that of those punk/rock idols that catered to the rebellious teen generation

His appearance in the 80s was much more lively and had much more going on than the mellowed out old man we have today—though i have not drawn an actual design for it yet, it’s color palette is heavily similar to that of the Glockenspiel shown in the Epic Mickey comic “Clocktower Cleaners”, that + just being reminiscent to Hong Kong Small World

Was a massive pushy egotistical jerk back in the 80s, partied a lot (not a healthy amount for a 36 foot tall, 6 ton weighing Clock tower), typical “young and free” hooligan—way less soft and collected as he is today

Something happened one day that cut his fame short, possibly an accident at a party that caused him to get thrown off from the Mainstream world, and straight into the Wasteland, where he was forced to be on some googoo gaga weenie hut Jr. ass ride for the remainder of his time as a punishment for his recklessness

There were even rumors that have diffused to the Wastelands from the Outside world that they even went on to REPLACE Glockenspiel with somebody else��it doesn’t bother him as much, but it’s definitely worth noting

-BATCH 6 (more physical stuff)

Despite all laws of physics, regarding the texture and form of metal, wood, and all things that create a mechanism such as himself…. He is squishy.

Specifically on the face (considering one of his attack animations in his boss fight), and certain bodily areas. Though this shouldn’t, and can’t be possible… it is… very much so

Despite the latter, he is also somewhat soft on other areas of his body, especially due to a protective inner rubber layer on certain parts of his body, like his chest and limbs, you can’t feel it much considering it’s *inside* of his metal shell of a body, but it’s there

However, his stomach contradicts acts this, having the protective rubber layer outside of the body, given how he doesn’t have a shell on his stomach, but rather another, thicker rubber layer to replace it (making his stomach’s exterior just be two layers of rubber) making his midsection area, and his face, the squishiest parts of his body

His forms can also control the heat of himself + the environment around him, given his tremendous size

In Paint form, everything is at a comfortable, room temperature, and leaves the Clock tower being warm to the touch, especially on the facial area, given the fact that this man is literally competitious with the actual sun, given the fact that he’s just this big ball of artificial sunshine when he’s not being all moody

However, his Thinner form causes the environment around him to be uncomfortably cold, not in a “hoohoo chill breeze” way, but in a “Holy shit. Its cold. im gonna get sick out here” kind of cold, Any physical touch with this guy in thinner form feels like you just took him out a freezer, which may or may not feel worse when you’re getting absolutely crushed by this absolute mammoth of a man

It’s a rumor that if you hug, or squeeze him in a tight/forceful way, he’ll make one of those cartoon squeak noises (specifically the one in MLP)

-CRACK/MISC HEADCANONS

Allergic to dust, somehow (also canon?)

Probably caused an earthquake like 45 times now

Actually put a crack in the floor once because he tripped

Without his glasses, his sight is equal to that of a 144p video

Touch starved.

Actually very clumsy, the size doesn’t help at all…given the last few entries

His favorite “human” food so far is probably pavlova, specifically pavlova cake rolls. The dolls make that for him a lot

Somehow is able to decipher any. ANY given language, speak it, and even translate it under any circumstances

Lullabies are one of his strongest weakness

Lemme elaborate—There was once a time where the Gramophone in his chest got damaged, and they had to replace it with a music box (the ones used for lullabies), and ended up having to close the ride because this mf decided to go Night-night after about 30 minutes into opening hours

Adores anything considered soft by texture, especially fabric, in clothing or blankets

Developed insomnia from constant oil consumption

Will usually call people who wander into the ride “little one”, regardless of physical age, to him, everyone is small

Got turned into a human once and nearly made like. Half of the Wasteland faint

Shortly after he was turned human, the first thing he did was hug somebody. It did not go too well considering his physique

Lives with 3 other objects in the Small World, which take form of a Cloud, a Sun, and a Hot Air Balloon, which may get separate HC dump posts sometime soon (once i find out what to do with them)

Cracks a lot of Time puns. the dolls really don’t like them

#epic mickey clock tower #epic mickey clocktower #epic mickey #clocktower #clock tower #headcanons #headcanon dump #bandwagon

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victoriadallonfan · 2 months

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Mistborn: Well of Ascension Review

Is It Good: Yes

Does It Have Flaws: A lot

Is It Problematic: Sometimes

Would You Reread: No

Would You Recommend: Yes

Spoilers below

I’ve listened to positive and negative reviews of this book to help formulate my thoughts

So overall, I think there’s a great book buried underneath a slog of really repetitive material.

Brandon is great at writing a mystery, but it’s hindered by the fact that we get incredibly uninteresting scenes that just have Elend, Vin, Zane doing the same song and dance over and over again.

I was 200% more invested in Sazed investigating the Hero of Ages compared to the political drama Elend and Vin dealt with. Or Vin dealing with “wanting to wear a dress” (more on that later).

I really love how Eldritch and Sinister the cosmology is, even as I knew from Stormlight Archives what it would be. It’s handled far more horrific here in a good way compared to Stormlight, which was a letdown imo, so this was enjoyable.

I also really love Sazed’s magical abilities. Allomancy is neat, but the story points out that Mistborn are just.. so powerful they make other Allomancers feel pointless, worldbuilding wise. But Sazed’s powers are more limited while also being far more interesting in applications, so I loved that we got to see that more in depth.

Most of the characters are good, and enjoyable, even Breeze.

Now for the bad.

Breeze and Allrianne relationship is just… disgusting. I really don’t understand the purpose of having a near 40 year old man having sex with a barely legal woman who just recently turned legal iirc. Why was this added as a story beat? Why are some of the characters that aren’t Vin and OreSeur not more grossed out by it?

And no, having the “she seduces me!” reveal does not help.

Secondly, none of the antagonists are good. Sure, they are hateable, but they all lack any sort of impact. Zane is the worst because he is quite possibly the most cookie-cutter CW Bad Boy stereotype in existence, monologuing like a bad anime character about how “we are different”/“why do we listen to them?”/“they just don’t understand us” ala Lysanderoth. And he dies from the worst “reveal” I’ve ever seen; it was so cool how Vin used pewter dust to blind the Inquisitors and improvised weaponry to bypass the skill gap. Here it’s just: “Lmao I just wait to attack bypass your precog, get good”, which I’m pretty sure does not track at all with what we see in the first book (or this one).

Despite Lord Ruler having little presence in the first book, he at least had PRESENCE

Finally, the way this book handles women and skaa is just so odd. It feels as if the story/characters/Brandon treat women as having a hive mind for being obsessed with fashion; in fact, it’s part of Vins struggle that she loves dresses but can’t find the “strength” to wear them. Meanwhile, no male character obsessed over fashion nearly as much, even Breeze who admits part of his design is an act for others. Likewise, there’s no woman who thinks fashion is stupid or just indifferent.

I don’t hate the idea of Vin struggling with newfound femininity vs her own biases, but it’s just so blandly set up that I can’t feel invested.

And I will lose my damned mind if I have to hear one more “you can never understand a woman”/“teenage girls aren’t rational” comment, even from other women characters!

Also, besides Tyndl and Vin, there aren’t any really any women in power nor is that explored. Even Allrianne - who is just… meh as a character over all - has no political power without her father and she’s basically a femme fatale cliche as well. None of the Skaa have female leaders, for example.

And speaking of Skaa, those poor guys. Going from brave freedom fighters and rebellions, even prior to Kelsier, to idiots who are treated as fools who need the privileged Elend and his like to guide them all to the right answer (or they become manipulated or are in fact corrupt). I don’t even hate Elend, but the way Brandon puts him in this position is just such a shame. The story doesn’t even let him explore his ingrained classism or racism/specism for the Skaa or Kandra

Like I said, there’s a great book under all this stuff. But it’s pulled down by - in my opinion - a lot of faults that verge on problematic.

Good but it could be better

#mistborn #well of ascension #Mistborn well of ascension #cosmere #brandon sanderson

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